Mitali Jain

The loud shrill of my cell phone made me snap out of my thought. Picking up the said electronic, I swiped it towards my right and quickly answered it without giving a look to the caller Id.

"Mitali, where are you? I am down stairs, right outside your office come down quickly." Naveen snapped and even before I could respond to his questions the call was ended.

Just fucking great.

With a huge deep breath, I let the files stay the way they were and walked downstairs and sat in the car without as much as a thought of greeting my brother.

"Daksh is right, you have some serious problem with greeting people, but again, that's why I still have a doubt why does Jai even like you?" Naveen kept on yapping his mouth while weaving his way out of the narrow lane.

While I, I was still in my own world, where my brain kept on reminding me the numerous catalogues of paintings and the various analysis of it that was done by many people.

And even if I had to pretend that I was not human and some other species I would say that she was one fine artist; one whose paintings screamed emotions such that the one who was looking at them would become putty in those color scheming, the perfect strokes the art and finally what it had to convey.

"Bhai, how long do you know Daksh?" I asked, my eyes looking out of the closed window into the dark sky trying to search the blanket of stars which were still invisible.

"Since my junior college.... Why do you ask?" I could feel the shifting gaze of his as tried to understand my expression.

"Did something happen?" he inquired, the elder brother that he was surely couldn't control himself.

"We have a new exhibition going on in our Gallery, you know it's the monsoon, and some of the interns suggested this being the season of the emotions as well why not keep that as a theme." I started, shifting from my almost tired, with no life in my body state to now a bit alert and exited one.

"Okay," Naveen's eyes shifted from me towards the road.

"So today Daksh had come to look around, and we just had a very interesting conversation." I said, and waited to look how he would react to it. And as expected he looked a bit surprised and nodded in that slow motion manner, the same way that he always did when he had to say something on it.

"Daksh told me you and him always have these interesting conversations time to time."

"Yep we do, but Bhai, this time we were talking about paintings and he told me... he told me that his mom was an artist." There was this 'ohh yes' kind of look on his face as he drove his car to the left and stopped his car in a very swift manner.

"We will talk about this once we go inside." He said, and started to unbuckle himself to get down. And that was when I realized we were stationed outside a very fancy restaurant.

Nothing was surprising in this other than the fact that my brother didn't really ever bothered to take me out for a dinner in a fancy restaurant.

Well if the story that he took me to McDonalds when I had passed my 12 boards exams with brilliant marks, and the time when he had given me a treat at the small cozy café near our home when he had accepted his offer, didn't support my statement, that he is amongst those who would never take his sister or family to a fancy restaurant than I didn't really know what to make out of this situation.

Quickly unbuckling myself, I got out of the car and walked rather ran towards him.

"Bhai is everything okay?" I asked as soon as I caught up to him. As he took a deep breath and answered,

"Veer thought it would be great to have dinner together with you, they haven't spent much time with you... and you didn't tell me that you met Veer at the book sale?" Naveen's eyes narrowed at me as I shrugged my shoulders and said,

"You never said I had to report to you where I go and whom I meet."

"Right." With that we walked inside the restaurant. And this time for the first time I was lucky enough to be dressed in formals rather than my stylish casuals.

As we made our way towards some table that might be designated to us... I couldn't help myself but admire the lightly lit cozy environment. The lavish bar that covered one whole side made me shiver in amazement.

I looked around and then at my brother and quickly matched his step and took hold of his hands and said,

"Do you mostly dine in places like these?"

"You know I do not like to waste my money into something so lavish." He replied with a small smile, and I knew what he had meant to say. I squeezed his hand and said,

"Bhai,"

"Hmm?"

"It's okay to enjoy yourself sometimes, you have earned each and every thing and you deserve those lavish things-"

"So do you all, and till the time I won't be capable of getting you guys to do that at my expense I won't." With that he turned towards one corner and waved at Veer and Jai who sat in a private booth, and walked up to them while I stood there with a feeling similar to the day when my brother had for the first time got me those little shoes with his 3 months pocket money.

****

"Hii Mitali." Veer waved at me with such enthusiasm that I had involuntarily scowled at him.

"Hii Jai," I than looked at veer and said, "Hii veer but what's the occasion for this dinner?"

"And here I thought we are already friends." He smiled at me with that very sweet smile of his that had me roll my eyes.

"I wouldn't count your unexpected interruption as friendship... Bhai, Jai, your friend here needs serious lesson on how to disguise himself."

"I did a very decent job." Veer claimed, while my brother and Jai looked at me for clarification. I shook my head in negative and said, "wearing a hoodie and sunglasses in the month of June I hardly call it a proper outfit, in fact I could recognize you quite well. "

"That's something to be thought about later on... Veer why were you even disguised, it's not like everyone knows your title here." Jai said, as he sipped his drink and winked at me.

I tried ignoring his sly ways and shifted my attention to veer who was whining like a kid. Who would even guess that this person seated over here though physically qualified for his title yet he was similar to that of a kid.

"Where is Daksh?" I asked cutting off Veer's complaints.

"He said he had a meeting so he won't be joining us." Jai answered, and as I looked at him, I could feel the air around us growing weird. Shifting a bit in my seat I looked back at my brother and said,

"Bhai, you are yet to answer me about the Daksh's Mom." I said, and I couldn't make it was just me or did really Jai, Veer and my brother had that weird exchange of eye contact.

"What do you want to know about Arundhati Aunty?" Jai asked me as he shifted a bit towards me.

"Daksh told me his mom was an artist... and with the work that I have seen of hers she isn't that famous, but yes her work is so beautiful."

"Arundhati Aunty wasn't that famous but for her, art was all that she could think of, when Daksh was born she wanted him to have the skill as well, but unfortunately Daksh was more like his dad." Veer said, as he took a sip of his drink, while the other two men played with their glass.

"Aunty and Daksh were quite close to each other, with uncle being busy; their days would be spent around art... that was how Daksh had an eye for paintings." Bhai said and took a deep breath.

As he clarified it finally began to make sense. Everyone had a story as to why they preferred what they did, I could never know what was my reason, I always liked being surrounded with colors, colors that expressed feelings, emotions and stories...whereas Daksh, for him it was something he inherited, may be an unforgettable habit.

"I remember when we had gone for our bachelors how reluctant Daksh was, but every time he would be here or Aunty would come to Gujarat he would make sure to visit one or the other art galleries or exhibitions. That's what he still does whenever he is in the city."

"What do you mean by whenever he is in the city?" I asked, my eyes wandering at each one of them. Yet as they kept on narrating his story, I realized Daksh had a very different side as well and as it progressed did I realize It never occur to me that Daksh could as well have a story for why he liked Paintings... and I was sure nothing was compared this.

"Daksh's base company is in Hyderabad, they are into I.T, he keeps on moving from Hyderabad to here... his mom used to stay in Bombay so they were here only, while his dad used travel the way he does now."

"So now his mom and dad stay with him in his new place?" I asked and looked at Jai who had leaned in a bit towards me with his eyes furrowed as he asked,

"Tell me one thing Mitali, how come you had gone to Daksh's place to help him with the stuff yet don't know about his mom and dad?"

"Who said I went to his house? I never did.", before Jai could say anything I felt my brother pulling me by my elbow to make me look at him as he asked,

"You never went to his place to decorate his house?"

"No, how can I go there, I was busy with one of my friend's assignment, in fact I had asked one of the interns to look into the delivery stuff. Why do you guys think that I was there to help him out?" my eyes wandered off to each one of them one by one, I was trying my best to understand what was it that was happening here, but as much as I tried to process it, it didn't really made sense.

Was it a misunderstanding on their part or had Daksh cooked up a story for something? And even if he did so, than why did he involve me into it?

"Bhai, Jai, Veer, is anyone of you going to tell me what is happening here?" I asked, my voice I registered sounded the way it did when I would be scared.

And somehow I realized I wasn't just scared of myself but as well for Daksh. What was is that made him say something like that?

I felt Jai's hand covering mine in a comforting grip as I looked at him. For a moment he looked at Naveen and then back at me and said,

"Daksh had told us that you had helped him out with remodeling his house."

"That's absurd because when I asked him if I should help him with the decorating stuff he said his mom had a great experience in it and will help him out!"

I heard Veer letting out a small chuckle as he said, "That's totally impossible... I am sure he might have something up his sleeves, may be his girlfriend."

"He does not have a girlfriend." I stated and looked back at Naveen who sat there as if a statue, and I knew if he was doing some thinking out there, and with this idiot of a prince right in front of me, there was only one person who could tell me what the hell was all this.

"Jai what is this all?"

"Mitali, his mom... are you sure he said that?" he asked his had still held mine in a comforting grip, and truly it was the only thing that had kept me sane all this while.

"Yes obviously!"

Jai took a deep breath and once again looked at Veer who now as well seemed a bit tensed, and then to my brother who had a very weird expression on his face, as he said,

"That's not possible... Daksh's mom wouldn't have helped him with the decoration, because his parents had died long back in a car accident."

****

Daksh Chauhan.

Walking inside the dimply lit room I took hold of the blanket, it surely smelled like her, jasmines and roses... what was it that made them smell like that, what did she used? I had always wondered, but now it scared me. Mitali's words kept on ringing in my ears again and again.

She didn't like the painting. How come she didn't liked the painting, everyone did, but then there was that one person who as well didn't liked it, he had thrown it away... why don't they like it.

My thoughts began to be so loud, each jumping from one point to another, some made me smile, they reminded me of my school days, some made me frown, the talked about the time when mom wouldn't let me draw, some made me chuckle. It was so weird.

My eyes wondered off to the end of the room where the canvas laid, the room was still dark except for the part where she stood painting something once again.

"When did you come back?" Mom asked; her eyes still trained on the painting on which she was working.

"Just now, I met Mitali, you know, 'the lady' is put for exhibition in the Jahangir art gallery." I informed her as my hands began to shake once again remembering what Mitali said about it.

May be once again my mom was able to see the amiss in my behaviour as she asked, "What's wrong?"

"She didn't like the painting." And as soon as the words were out of my mouth she began to laugh.

"Daksh, how many times I have to tell you, it's okay, some people do like certain things yet are afraid to accept it because they have their own fears and reasons, many times they are even helpless for what they do."

I couldn't understand what she had to say, but for now I was happy to know that Mitali wasn't wrong... she had her own reasons.

I wrapped my arms around me and brought my knees towards my chest as I rocked myself, I could hear the door creaking as kaka walked inside.

But I was happy, "Mitali liked the painting but is hesitant to accept it." I kept on murmuring; ignoring the numerous attempts that kaka was doing to gain my attention. 

A/n

who all have their heads scratching right now??? 

By far this is one of my favourite chapters even the most difficult one that I had written. I felt it to be a bit over dramatic, then may be i was giving out too much in just one chapter and had to cut it down... I dont know, the chapters further up are eating my head even more. 

But lets just say that the boat is sailing fairly well till now. 

So remember last week I said I had a thing to share... well this would be just a gist of it. 

Today onwards, I have started an Internship with the Star sports and Scrappy, i am volunteering into their initiative called "Play For India" where we go to many government school here in Mumbai and take a survey of the children's Playing activities.  the responses that I have received today had me so shocked. 

I couldn't believe that here in bombay a few km away where my school was, so is the school situated where i had done my survey and here kids of 10 standard believe its not right for a boy and a girl to play together. it is taught to them that the two genders of the society shouldn't play together one being that girls are weak and might get hurt and second was so baseless... people think that If a boy and a girl would play together they might develop some kind of illicit relationship. 

I realized even though the news and stories and what all debates that I had been into... nothing could beat a live experience... where I couldn't remember a single day hanging out without  boys, there are still students who are made to sit in a way that the class is divided into two parts one for the boys and one for girls. 

any how... thats the beginning, let me know if you all would like to know my further experience as well there is something big gona happen in these two days if it becomes successful i will really tell you guys. 

till then fill me up with your views on the story

happy reading 

and do not forget to vote comment and share

Yadni Bagwe